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Just in time for Halloween and Oglethorpe’s Zombie Week…! Oglethorpe University will welcome Zombie expert and authorMax Brooks to campus on Monday, October 24. Join us—if you dare—at 7:00 p.m. in Lupton Auditorium to hear Brooks’ “10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack,” based on his book The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.

Brooks is also the author of The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, soon to be made into a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt.

Brooks is a former writer for Saturday Night Live and is the son of Hollywood’s Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.

A book signing will follow, with books available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public, with limited seating. No zombies allowed.

On September 13, Oglethorpe was thrilled to welcome The Clark Howard Show, which broadcasted their primetime show live from Oglethorpe’s Weltner Library.

The show stars Clark Howard, a favorite consumer advocate, TV personality and author, who incidentally was an Oglethorpe student at one point during his academic career.

The studio audience included President Schall and more than 50 OU students who had the chance to hear tips about saving for college, paying off college debt, and other life-long financial words of wisdom.

Several students even had the chance to ask their own questions—some live on-air, like OU freshman Kai Owens, who asked about ways to pay off college debt before graduating. View the entire live show online.

“It is currently 5:30 in the morning and we are waiting at our terminal to head back home to Atlanta. After a week full of non-stop sightseeing and traveling, it seems we are all sleepwalking through the airport and even the wonderful coffee of the country can’t help wake us up. The last few days have been filled with a couple days at the beach, zip lining, and a game against the Costa Rican national team.

The beach resort we stayed in was one of the most serene and relaxing scenes we could have hoped for, with the rainforest stretching all the way up to palm trees and the stunning beach. The surrounding landscape was mountainous so it felt as though we were enclosed in our own beach paradise separated from the rest of the world. While swimming in the pool the first afternoon we experienced a tremble and most of us really thought nothing of it, moments later we were ordered to evacuate the pool because just 40 miles away a 6.0 earthquake had taken place. Living in California in my young life, I had experienced earthquakes before but it was a first time experience for most of my teammates to add to the list of firsts already accumulated during the trip.

The next morning we embarked on our zip lining expedition through the rainforest canopy. We glided through the trees on 14 different zip lines traveling at speeds of 35 mph on some. The most uneasy part of the whole experience though was standing on wooden platforms built around trees suspended hundreds and even thousands of feet above the ground. After the zip lining we had the rest of the day off at the beach to relax and enjoy our last days of Costa Rica and its beautiful scenery.

The last day we had our final friendly game against the Costa Rican national team, only it wasn’t as friendly as advertised. Continue reading →

“Halfway through our excursion through Costa Rica has our team feeling cultured and a bit tired. The past couple days have been filled with a game against the five-time defending champs of the top professional league in Costa Rica, a community outreach activity, sightseeing at an active volcano, a relaxing night indulging in natural hot springs, and a whitewater rafting trip.

Our game against Barva was highly anticipated by my teammates and me—we wanted to see how we stacked up against top flight international competition. We would not be disappointed as the Barva team was one of the biggest and most athletic teams I have personally ever played against on the collegiate level. Undersized and considerably younger (most of Barva’s players were around 28 or 29 years old), we struggled to compete early as Barva jumped out to an early double digit lead. Our team once again showed tremendous heart and defensive effort as we clawed back to take the lead halfway through the third quarter, only to eventually fall to the Barva squad. Barva’s best player, a wing from Panama, was one of the most athletic and best physical specimens I have ever shared the hardwood with. Once again, Alec Pitts was named the MVP followed closely by Sam Purdy who was once again lights out from 3-point range. Two other players rounded out the night with double figures: freshman Tyler Courson and me.

The next morning we embarked on a community outreach activity at a local children’s center in San Jose. We came bearing gifts of candy, coloring books, clothes, and of course some stuffed “Peteys” to share with the children. Unanimously, the most rewarding part of the trip thus far was when we spent a few hours with the kids playing on the playground. Their most favorite activity was being carried on our shoulders through the playground. Not to be outdone, Coach Ponder had a record crowd as he shared with the children some of his famed magic tricks. When the time to depart came it was hard to tell who was more upset we were leaving: the children or the players. Continue reading →

Researcher and author Dr. Richard Wrangham is a trustee of the Jane Goodall Institute and a former trustee of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

The Oglethorpe University 2011 commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 9:00 a.m., on the academic quadrangle of the OU campus. President Larry Schall will preside over the ceremony that will honor more than 250 graduating students.

This year, Oglethorpe will present honorary degrees to three distinguished members of the civic and academic worlds:

Award-winning poet Linda Bierds

– Award-winning poet and University of Washington Professor of English Linda Bierds will receive a Doctor of Letters honorary degree.

– The Honorable Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta, will receive a Doctor of Laws honorary degree.

– Dr. Richard Wrangham, the Ruth Moore Professor of Anthropology and Chair of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University, will receive a Doctor of Sciences honorary degree.

Each honorary degree recipient will address the Class of 2011. Past honorary degree recipients include such well-known names as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Woodrow Wilson, and Amelia Earhart.